Leather Wrap Arounds

The latest of my wrap arounds...this one created with the duo hole beads by Preciosa Ornela. A beautiful glass with an iris coating. A five wrap, I think was made at 26" or is that a four wrap??? Well, maybe it was 32" for a five wrap...I think I've made up a formula that works for determining the amount needed for a specific wrist measurement.

Take actual wrist measurement for wrap #1, for each consecutive wrap add 1/4" more for ease. Then finish with three knots, forming two buttonholes for adjustment.

For example, a four wrap for me would be; 6.5" + 6.75" + 7" +7.25 = 27.5"

This way you could make one for a friend and know it would fit properly!

This front side view of a wrap being sent out this week to a very special gal...The multi colored 4mm stones are River Rock Agate which blend beautifully with the smooth cornered Thai silver beads we have at Monica's Quilt and Beads Creations! The leather a gorgeous tan natural color in a 1.5mm round leather.

Here is a full back view of the bracelet, I started adding Silver beads every third or fifth set of beads. added some light to the piece. The cute Lizard button was a gift from one of my Bead Chick friends!

Fandango Earrings

What happens when a spiral goes spiraling out of control?  Well, you can always make another and call the both of them a pair of earrings!

Which is exactly what happened here. A simple task, to make a Cellini spiral Ring, became so much more than that when an experiment with bead size and count went a little oversized. The extra large bead sizes caused the ring to lay a little bit flatter than I had hoped, but my Bead Chicks (my beading network) encouraged me to carry on and figure out how to use them anyway. The next challenge was to recall what steps I had taken to make them as they were and replicate the same again...only this time in mirror image since I wanted to have them hang as a pair.

Well, it helps to take good notes while you are working...that could be lesson #1. A few photos along the way would have been lesson #2. So now to make yet another pair or two..perhaps in green and blues and another in blacks and white with a pop of red! Anything could be used as the drops, a larger bead count to start the first row would create an even longer pair. This pair included several color of Delica beads, a couple colors, including that color of the year Tangerine Tango,  in size 11 seed beads, one size 8 hex seed bead, one size 6 seed bead and of course the cute Vintage Czech Glass Yellow Drops!

We'll see what happens real soon! 'Til then I've been wearing these and getting loads of compliments. A great way to use up those left over bits from other projects or a bead soup, too!

I'll be wearing them at Monica's Quilt and Bead tomorrow, so stop by and take a look! Ohhh, I see a new class on the horizon...

A Bead Hop, Nevada and Utah

From Cedar City, UT...The Bead Forest, quiant, right on Main St. at the center of town.


At Park Silly outdoor Market on a lovely Sunday...found again Beadniks!

My favorite in the heart of Salt Lake City, south of city in Sugarhouse. Next to Sundance outlet!

A definite stop in Las Vegas, outside the strip but worth a look around.

My new favorite bead shop in Las Vegas, closer to the strip, tons and tons of unusual collectibles!

Well along the way to visit my son and daughter in law in Utah we found a few good Bead shops! Most of these are places I had been to before and they truly never disapoint!
Driving up to Cedar City is always a pretty sight then in the heart of town is a familiar old bead shop, it used to be almost underground when it was across the street! He's a clever guy and does his own lampwork beads, carries an ecelectic variety of beads...even had a few little beaded fishes that a gal makes for his shop! Don't let the simple nature of the shop fool you, look around ,ask about the Delicas behind the counter! Gold plated and Platinum Delica beads..pricey but when you run out and need more, well, need I say more?

After a few days in Park City, is was time to run down the hill and visit Salt Lake City...even a few minutes in String Beads is worth it! I don't know how many bonus cards I have, but some day I will put them all together and qualify for a discount! Fun pieces to look at, lots of great beads hanging on the wall and a friendly staff. I noticed the owners eager to help a new beader learn a skill. Nice findings as well...a bonus, next door is the Sundance Catalog outlet store! Those are burgundy pearls that I will use in the Sophia Earrings from Maggie Meister's new book.

A bonus find in Park City...Beadniks which was in the Redmond Shopping center had closed....but wait for it.... the owner was selling her product (at a fabulous discount) at the Park Silly Market on Sunday. A fun surprise of which my dear hubby took a picture and posted on my facebook page! Found great pink leather for another wraparound and two strands of awesome 4mm round semi precious stones.

On the return trip, it was nice to stop in Las Vegas and check out a couple of old haunts...Sadly, Beads Plus has finally closed, but Discount Beads has expanded. Great deals on seed beads and more! Just couldn't take it all home so I only left with a nessecary handful. I did notice they must have every color of every size of Swarovski Pearl on a huge wall...Great staff ready to help when needed.

And then ... the FIND of the trip...a darling little shop with a simple name, Beads Findings, with so much inventory I'm going to have to go back a few times to look it all over. Easy to find and right off the strip I think...maybe a few blocks over but close enough. If you can't find what you want, ask the owner, she'll know just where it is and show you even more than you know you wanted...She had lots of great stories, too, as she had businesses in Hawaii and Spain over the years. A very interesting woman! Great silver, lots of old collectible pieces, surrounded by some of the current fashion bling of today. Hey, ya gotta keep up with the Joneses.

All in all a good trip and I kept busy while in the car! Almost finished the pair of brick stitched earrings, began the two drop peyote base needed for a pendant plus made two outer beaded bases for a round style bead. More to come on those! As for the easiest way to travel and bead, well my DH set up a board with a small pillow underneath, one of those with the little pebbly beads so it conforms to my lap. This trip I put a square of non skid gripper stuff on the underside, the type used for rugs, and it worked well and kept the board securly on my lap. The board has outside rims so that the beads don't slide off and all my nessecary bead kit items fit in a super cute zipper pouch that one of my Bead Chicks friends made for me a few years ago! Every pit stop I made sure to pick up any loose threads and there was never a tell tale sign of my work...well, except for the errant bead or two !

Beading to Beat Autism...a Beading Girl's Night Out

What a fun night we had last night! To kick off the 2011 Bead Shop Hop, we introduced all attendees to the schedule of events upcoming in September. Wow, two weekends in a row seeking out all the great Bead Shops in SoCal...a beader's dream come true!
Tied into this evening was a worthy event as well, we all gathered around the beading table to create little stretchy bracelets that will in turn help a young girl's dream come to fruition! Check out www.beadingtobeatautism.com and read about Michala's story...she's only fourteen years old and has aspirations of building a center for education and research into the silent world of Autism. At age ten she raised over 250Thousand $$$ for her family and the treatment of her young brother, now four years later she desires funding for a Center in Louisville, Kentucky. Find out how to help her further this dream...
For some great pics of the night I'm sure we'll have some good photos on Monica's Quilt and Bead Creations web site, www.monicasquiltandbead.com. I bet we hold this event again so Monica herself can take part in the fun and others who were unable to attend can have another opportunity for fun , creativity and community service.
Above is my creation with Turquoise looking Magnasite and a Red Coral bead for contrast, remember your color theory?!? Lots of Silver spacers, nice chunks add a bit of panache! And then there is the puzzle Charm ( a symbol for autism)...given to me awhile ago by Deb, one of my Bead Chick friends. This Charm has some great words on the back as well...family, tradition, love, friends, charity...to remind us of what's important in our daily lives.
It was amazing to hear the stories of how many in attendance last night knew someone close to them who had Autism affecting a close personal friend or relative.

Rock 'n' Roll leather wraparound

Out in the SoCal desert we are having too much fun with these wraparound bracelets.

Deb, our dear friend and fellow Bead Chick decided to create a wrap using two different sizes of metal Thai Silver beads and a very pretty red/coral leather. Well, I thought it was too good of an idea not to share and have made one with skinny black leather as a birthday gift for a friend. Elegant, yet tough chica looking don't you think? Can't wait to make one of my own!

Slip Knot Lariat

A new delivery of sparkling Swarovski Pandora style beads has come into the shop, so we are all putting our heads together and coming up with ideas on how to use them in other ways. I remembered this fun idea that was shared with our beading group, the Bead Chicks, from the talented Robin Cowart of wegotthebead.com. Of course, my end product has been tweaked a bit, I added the dangling bits and changed the construction but she planted the germ of an idea...and a good one, too! Taking a long enough chain to fit over your head, fasten a larger bead, here I used a silver cube bead at one end. Add more chain below the bead for fashionable interest and now you have a support structure for the large hole beads. I suppose you could do this for Dzi beads or other gemstones with a large hole. The caveat to remember is that the width of two chains, sliding inside the hole, must fit easily into the large hole beads. Now you can buy one or two colors each and wear multiples or switch them up to match your wardrobe! Later, I'll show you how beautiful the new interchangeable designer beads are going to look, instead of these cat's eye stand-ins. Fun...Fun...Fun